Community fairs and church carnivals are already in full swing, so if you're heading out for an evening of summer fun, take care to ensure that you'll have happy memories long after you regain your bearings from the Tilt-A-Whirl ride.

The blog U.S. Food Safety had a recent reminder for hungry summer carnival-goers:

Take along a little container of hand sanitizer in case you can't wash your hands.

Trust your eyes. Is the food stand clean? Are washing facilities available to them?

Make sure food handlers are properly wearing gloves to prepare and serve food. (Also, they shouldn't be handling money with gloved hands if they're working with the food as well.)

Check to see if the vendor has food properly refrigerated.

Ask how long an item has been sitting. You can always ask for a fresh serving.

Makes sense to me. I'd add that as a courtesy to your friends and fellow riders, chow down after you hit the Tilt-A-Whirl.

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ABOUT THE WRITERS

TIM DARRAGH has been reporting and editing the news for 30 years, most of it at The Morning Call. For much of that time, he's been doing award-winning investigative and in-depth reporting projects. Tim created the three-year-long Change of Heart project, and wrote a series on the state's fractured food inspection system that led to widespread improvements in food safety. Meantime, that novice jogger you see plodding along the streets around Bethlehem Township? That would be Tim.